Page 1 had a full-page ad for Magic Kingdom Systems.
Pages 2 and 3 had full-page ads for Laitron Computers.
Page 4 had a full-page ad for Adventure Tickets.

Editor's Opinions

Thank you BABBA supporters.
We really get out - last month over 700 people downloaded
the IPWIN.ZIP file, from as far away as Wisconsin.
This issue is full of BBSs and ads, and a bit short on articles.
Bear with us as we make the transition to a thicker magazine.
Remember to support our advertisers.

Last month we commented on the new San
Jose garbage plan. The plan does seem to
be working better than we expected...

Government seems to cut important (and inexpensive) items like
libraries first. Preserved are expensive items, such as dumping
money into wars on victimless crimes, erecting monuments,
massive bureaucracy, special interests, and general waste.
Maintaining a public library system is one of the most
important functions a government can provide. Libraries are good
for society. Once a library is
filled with books, the cost of maintaining it is low considering
the benefits provided. Yet, libraries often suffer cutbacks.
Compared to public schools, libraries have more value for our tax dollar.
Support your local library.

Don't you wish the phone company would simply lower their rates - and
stop badgering us with all their complicated "plans"?

Questions and Comments

Q: Are these questions real or do you make them up?

A: Every question or comment we print has been sent to us.
We choose which and when they are printed.

Q: How many people read BABBA?

A: We publish 30,000 copies, so assume at least 30,000 people read it.
Some other magazines claim that each of their issues
is read by over 4 people! We don't know how anyone could
claim that. Advertisers should judge the response of an ad,
not how many claimed readers might see it.

Q: Why do you list commercial BBSs that do not "provide a useful
level of public access" as you described in issue 3? They offer
nothing for free and shouldn't take up space in your publication of
useful free access BBSs.

A: Good Point. We may someday stop listing
commercial services (having
no level of free public access) unless they pay for an ad.

C: I am disappointed with BABBA as you seem to have forgotten the
first time users. Please keep your articles geared for the newcomer.

A: We keep the newcomer in mind but we are for all levels, not just
for beginners. Our first 3 issues were filled with articles
specifically for the new modem user. Like any magazine, every
issue of BABBA is different. We cannot be all things to all people
all the time. Look up our back issues! We will have more beginner
level articles in the future.

Q: Can you tell me the name of the Sysop that runs the so_and_so
BBS?

A: No. If you do not see a Sysop name in the BABBA summaries, the
Sysop wishes to remain anonymous.

Q: Why does BABBA, and many other BBSs, refuse to
let in 300-baud modem callers, This is a symptom of
BBSs with a bad attitude - with arrogant and snooty Sysops!

A: Some people expect too much from a free BBS, (or a free
magazine).
Sysops running a BBS out of their pocket and valuable time are
amazed when a few non-contributing callers demand the BBS cater to
their needs immediately.
Our response:

1) The anger is misplaced. Not allowing 300 baud is generally a
practicality issue, not a personal one. These days, 300 baud is not
fast enough to do anything useful on most BBSs. Some BBSs are very
busy and access is metered to each caller. The Sysop can opt to
prevent 300 baud callers from wasting time. You will find some lower
speed or simpler BBSs where you can log on at 300, but this list is
shrinking fast.

2) The Sysop is not obligated to any special requirements. A Sysop
can decide "14.4 or up only" if they wish. It is their BBS.

3) We have added a new question to the BABSYSOP.FRM file for Sysops
to fill out. The question is, "What is the minimum modem speed your
BBS accepts". Soon we will list the minimum speeds so people with
slow modems will know.

Q: I wasted a lot of time looking for
your magazine. The stores run out fast. Why don't you put more of
them out?

A: We are ad revenue limited, and the 30,000
disappear fast. Please to get to the store
early in the month, or subscribe.
The BABBA picked up from a rack or from the stack is a free
magazine. Enjoy it for what it is. We will listen to
constructive criticism - but please don't
expect too much for free.

Q: Is it effective to place advertising on BBSs?

A: Not really. Printed material, especially the kind that is saved,
is more effective than BBS advertising.

C: In response to the letter claiming that internal modems waste
power by being on continuously, I might point out that most of the
people I know with external modems have units with external power
supplies. When you turn off a device which uses a wall adapter, the
transformer blithely performs like a small induction heater. If you
really want to be "green" try putting your adapters (modem &
otherwise) on a separate power strip with a switch. (PATRICK
MARSHAL)

A: Good point, especially in the Summer.

The bottom of page 5 had ads for SPAUG - the Stanford Palo
Alto PC Users Group
(www.mediacity.com/~spaug)
and Post Box Plus

Programmers Corner

A large variety of single node and multi-node BBS software can be
found as public domain, freeware, shareware, or commercial software
packages.
BBS software packages which support multiple node operation usually
rely on other packages such as DESQView, or some other multitasker
for operation. Setting up an external multitasker properly can be a
difficult and time consuming task. Packages that don't rely on an
external multitasker tend to be expensive.

One combination of products that I have used which does not require
an external multitasker and is extremely configurable is TBBS (The
Breadboard System) and TDBS (The Database System) from the eSoft
company. TBBS has its own internal multitasking and TDBS allows a
Sysop to write code in dBASE III+ which allows for the development
of a very custom system. The biggest drawback of this system is
that for a two-line system the cost will exceed $500. Beyond two
lines, software costs will exceed $1000.

Why use dBASE to write a BBS?

A shortcoming of many bulletin board software packages is the lack
of configurability. Most have some flexibility, but are usually
constrained by some underlying architecture.
Using dBASE to develop a BBS is a valid choice because dBASE closely
aligns itself with one of the primary reasons a BBS is started.
That reason being the display and maintenance of database
information. Creating, maintaining and the ability to query
information are the strong suits of dBASE. dBASE is also a language
that useful utilities and applications can be developed - with a
minimal amount of learning time. There are many books available on
programming in dBASE as well as countless souls that have spent much
time with this language.

Some shortcomings of dBASE are that it is not designed for such
tasks as serial port maintenance. But that is where products (which
can be a front end to dBASE) come in. With an operating system or
an application handling the dirty work and dBASE code handling the
data, it becomes a powerful duo.

A Solution

I have reviewed a pair of products that have many similar features
as the TBBS/TDBS combination, but for a far more reasonable cost.
These products are Coherent from the Mark Williams Company and dBMAN
from VersaSoft corporation. Coherent is a UNIX operating system
work-alike. It closely resembles the popular version 7 of UNIX.

Two of its most notable features are its cost of $99.95 and it's
outstanding manual. It has been around for a number of years in a
variety of configurations. The most recent version is 4.0 which is
a true 32-bit operating system. Mark Williams has added many
features over the life of Coherent, but still has maintained the low
price of $99.95. Over 200 utilities are included along with Borne
and Korn UNIX shells. Included is a C language compiler and the
necessary communication utilities to connect to other systems via
uucp and Kermit protocols. Utilities are also included to read and
write MS-DOS diskettes. Additional files for Coherent are available
on a support BBS as well as the Internet. System requirements are a
386 or higher processor, 1MB RAM and 10 MB of hard disk space.

VersaSoft offers dBMAN for a variety of operating systems including
Coherent. dBMAN can be most accurately described as a dBASE III+
work-alike with additional features. The current version of dBMAN
for Coherent is priced at $149.95. This includes an unlimited user
license as well as pseudo compiler to speed up dBASE III+
applications by as much as 10 times. dBMAN for Coherent requires
version 4.0 of Coherent with 2 MB of hard disk space and about 500K
of RAM plus 128K per BBS node.

UNIX Brings It Together

UNIX handles serial port communications very easily. This is one of
the fortes of the UNIX operating system. Using a pair of
inexpensive two-port serial cards, four modems can be added easily.
This is done without purchasing any additional software. Coherent
will also support multiple port serial cards such as the Digiboard.
The answering of the modems and presenting the user with a log-in
prompt are handled by the Coherent O.S.

By configuring the system it is possible to launch an application of
your choosing after a user logs on. The application launched
becomes a Coherent BBS door. The application launched can be a
product such as dBMAN. dBMAN is configured to then start a dBASE
III+ BBS application.

Let's Build a BBS

As a test to see what kind of system could be developed in a short
time with dBMAN, I decided to build an application which could be
used as part of a BBS. Within three hours I was able to develop an
application which let the user tag which files were desired for
downloading and then send the files via Zmodem. The program
consisted of a browse window where the user could scroll backwards
and forwards through file listings. When a desired entry was seen,
it could be tagged by simply marking it with a tap of the space bar.

The modem file transfers were handled by "shelling" out to the
operating system and passing the file name to Zmodem. My test
program took less than 150 lines of code. The end result was a way
of selecting files for downloading that was easy to use.
Sample dBMAN code for the browse window, the selection of files and
the actual code to download the selected files is available on
the Berryessa Central BBS (Babba Zone 1). The file is named
9308SRC1.BAB and is a free download.
(That BBS closed years ago.)

dBMAN supports the dBASE III+ command and function set. It also
includes other commands and functions that make setting up a BBS
system much easier. Among these are the support of arrays, low-level
file reads/writes, a much enhanced browse command, windowing and
additional support for multi-user operations. These additional
commands and functions make many programming tasks much simpler.
There is also an applications generator. I did not have the
opportunity to try this utility out, so I cannot comment on its
operation. Per the dBMAN documentation it states "... a fully
commented source code program is generated."

The pseudo-compiler included with dBMAN is called Greased Lightning.
It is not a true compiler. My experience showed that the speed of
my application was definitely enhanced after compiling. With the
optional run-time license available from VersaSoft, it is possible
to compile your application with Greased Lightning and then
distribute it with their unlimited run-time version.

The Pluses and Minuses

Though there are many pluses to using a combination of Coherent and
dBMAN to create a BBS, and there are some drawbacks. The primary
drawback is that the operating system is not DOS and therefore a
wide variety of BBS applications (i.e. doors) cannot be used. In
defense of Coherent, there are packages available for free on the
Internet to handle such tasks as Fidomail, Usenet, Internet mail and
mail readers. These packages almost always include the source code
(usually C) which further allows modifications. Also, just about any
application can be run as a "door" under Coherent without
modification. One of the strongest benefits of Coherent is the
powerful multitasking capabilities of UNIX without having to
purchase huge amounts of memory and additional software.

Summary

For a software cost of $250 and some dBASE III+ programming efforts
it is possible to develop a custom multi-node BBS which can surpass
the more expensive packages available from other firms. BBS
applications already developed for Coherent show that performance is
still good on a 386 system with eight nodes in operation. Anyone
considering a multi-user BBS, where flexibility is a must, should
take a look at the combination of Coherent and dBMAN as a possible
low cost option. A person with an intermediate knowledge level of
dBASE could build a BBS in a short period of time that would truly
be different than the rest of the systems out there.

Multimedia Update

Upcoming Multimedia CD Releases
(By: Raaj Menon)

Many new CD titles are beginning to hit the retail shelves. We take
a peek at some of the more interesting ones:

20th Century Video Almanac

This CD is an overview of 20th Century events. It uses an extensive
archive of motion videos to produce a visual encyclopedia of the
century including audio, photos, and text. The CD has over 100
historic video clips with sound totalling over one hour of full
motion video. It also has over 100 photos and many pages of text.
Some of the other features include special focus on categories of
interest in sports, war, politics, disasters, etc. The 20th Century
Almanac is just hitting the stores now and is a good buy. This is an
overview CD disc. Available now. A complete 5 disc set will be
available in late August with topics in Sports Science, Technology,
War, Politics and Disasters.

Space Shuttle

This CD lets you take part in the Space Shuttle as though you were a
member of the crew. You will participate in a fascinating Multimedia
tour of every aspect of the space program. It lets you examine the
design of the module, attend crew training, observe the launch
sequence and monitor conversations between astronauts and Mission
Control. You will also explore and master every nuance of the Space
Shuttle gear and orbital flight, plus all the details of living and
working in space. Available now.

Newsweek Interactive

This CD is slated for release at the end of August. This will be the
first general interest magazine to be published in a quarterly,
Multimedia CD-ROM format. Through its interactive documentaries you
will be able to experience motion video, audio, animation and photo
essays. Some of the features of Volume 1 include: videos of
endangered species, colorful animations of global weather
phenomena, baseball, original stories, movies, audio created by the
editors of Newsweek magazine, a library of Newsweek and Washington
Post articles and dozens of video and audio clips.

Oceans Below

Oceans Below introduces you to a variety of equipment components and
underwater environmental factors. A map of exotic locations are
provided in which you choose your ideal dive site. Learn about local
sea-life through video clips and photos, and pursue a number of
unique diving experiences. Explore shipwrecks, feed an eel, hitch a
ride on a Manta Ray. The CD has over 45 minutes of video clips,
plus numerous photos, narration and original music. Oceans Below
will be available early September.

Capitol Hill

Experience what it's like to be a member of Congress. See the
Capitol building on your interactive tour. Participate in
ceremonies and budget reviews. Multiple video sequences and
photographs, along with narration and text present a full spectrum
of the sights and sounds of government from the inside. Capitol Hill
also allows you to test your knowledge of Congress in a challenging
game scenario. Available in September.

Mario is Missing - CD Deluxe

This CD-ROM version offers even more than the original disk product.
It has more cities to explore, additional clues to collect, new
artifacts to return to their rightful locations and is all enhanced
by the sights and sounds of Multimedia technology. Some of the
features include fully animated characters, digitized photos,
voices, and sound effects and full motion video. Available in early
August.

Chessmaster 4

The MPC CD-ROM version is due out in November. This will probably be
the best chess game ever put on CD-ROM. Some of the features will
include listening to enhanced opponent personalities commenting on
the game in conversation mode, engage in long distance matches using
modem and network hookups, play multiple games at once with
simultaneous exhibition capability, automatic annotation, an opening
book editor and SVGA graphics.

The best selling CD-ROM currently is The Seventh Guest by Virgin
Games. Next issue we will cover more new title releases on CD-ROM.

The bottom of page 8 had an ads for StylePro and
Western Hemispherics Technology
(www.wco.com/~rholland).

BBS of the Month: Uncle D's Directory

(By: Dave Spensley)

The Uncle D's Directory is a general purpose BBS that carries many
files for the hearing impaired. My niece was born with 5% hearing
in one ear and 10% hearing in the other. We tried many things to
help her step into our world in the best way she can. We began a
search for educational tools that could bridge the gap between her
world and ours.

We immediately noticed the attraction of the computer screen to
Karina and her deaf friends at school, as the computer provided a
tool for communication. The problem was, there was little software
that provided educational communication without sound being a major
part. In fact there was little software period. What was there
was mostly Apple, very little IBM compatible. We felt that the
more exposure people got to educational software the easier the
language gap could be overcome between the hearing impaired and the
rest of the population. Without a doubt, the computer could bridge
the language barrier.

We searched many bulletin boards across the country looking for
software that would be helpful to the deaf. We made many friends;
Herb Bartow who developed a program showing ASL (American Sign
Language) on the screen when the letters or words were typed in.
Another friend, Frank Holmes developed Fun With Letters and Words
and many more programs and has now adapted hand signs into the
programs he creates. These friends and many more have become
associates of our BBS and have helped our goal of having the type of
educational software that is helpful to the hearing impaired.

We started Uncle D's over 4 years ago as a stopping place, a
warehouse, a gathering place for enthusiasts who feel that the
computer is a universal tool capable of bridging the gap between the
worlds of the deaf and the hearing. The name came from Karina's sign
for me.

The board is free to all to use and now has over 300 megabytes of
files and games of educational and communicational value. In
addition, we maintain a free classified ad section, a bulletin
section and a message section where all people can communicate. We
even have several full electronic newspapers which are changed
monthly and are entertaining.

We are becoming very strong in game software and are acting as a
central place for many software game developers. We have the RIME
network that allows communication on many subjects on a national
basis. Many online games and interesting items can be found in our
doors. We have grown over the years into a multi-user board.
Everyone is welcome!

The bottom of pages 9 and 10 had ads for
Just Computers!
(www.justcomp.com),
and Monterey Gaming Systems.

Start a BBS?

Thinking of starting a
BBS? Here is some general advice on what's needed to start one:

Time

Figure on spending between 4 and 16 hours to set up a BBS. Fine
tuning a BBS can take 20 more hours. Maintenance is about 4-8 hours
a week, more if you log on and participate in the BBS yourself.
Add time for any upgrades or additions to the BBS, such as networks,
new nodes (telephone lines) or door games.

Telephone Lines

You need a voice grade (normal) dedicated telephone line for each
node of a BBS. A single node BBS (one caller at a time) requires
only 1 phone line. It is usually easy to find an extra telephone
wire set to add a single line BBS.

A 4 node BBS needs 4 telephone lines and allows 4 callers at a time.
Multiple lines in a residence sometimes require the Trench. Most
single family homes only support 2 phone wire sets. The Sysop
needs to invest considerable time and money digging a trench from
the street to the house, typically requiring concrete removal and
new wiring. If you have to dig a trench or take some other drastic
measure, have extra phone lines installed for the future.

You should get plain residence service. Consider getting flat-rate
unlimited service so your BBS can call out and you can use the line
yourself. Do not get any special features. Multi-Line BBSs should
consider "Hunting". For a small fee, all your telephones will appear
to have the same phone number to your callers.

Hardware

You need one modem for each node of your BBS. We recommend the newer-model
14.4 external modems.
You need a dedicated computer for the BBS. The computer chassis
(and the modem) must be powered up 24 hours. (Technology will one
day progress so that a phone call will wake up the modem and
computer.) The monitor/printer/etc. peripherals to the computer can
be turned off.

How powerful a computer depends on the type of BBS. A single node
2400 baud simple BBS can be constructed with almost any computer. We
have BBSs listed in BABBA that do not even have a hard disk!
Generally, the more powerful the computer, the better. Multi-Node
BBSs with high speed modems always need powerful computers. Many
BBSs have huge hard disks on very powerful computers.

When a BBS has more than 2 nodes, special hardware is required.
Either a special (expensive) serial board, or a local computer
network must be used. This requires more time, money and expertise
than does a 1-2 node BBS. Some BBS software companies sell a
complete solution for many-node BBSs. Many people hire consultants
to help them install such BBS systems.

Software

As you can see in BABBA, there are many different BBS software
packages. Some of the most popular packages in the Bay Area are
Wildcat, PCBoard and Spitfire. Here are some quick PRO/CON looks at
these packages. This is our subjective opinion, your mileage may
vary:

Wildcat is available for $129 plus shipping from Mustang Software,
(800) 236-6878. PRO: Good user interface. Very popular. Good
support. CON: Tends to crash (for some Sysops)

Spitfire is available for $90 from Buffalo Creek Software, 913-39th
Street, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265. PRO: One of the simpler BBS
packages, modest computer requirements, no extra cost for any
number of nodes. CON: Support is limited.

Besides these 3, there are many other good choices for BBS software
packages.
Multi-Node BBSs require multi-tasking software, such as DESQView,
etc. In all cases, a BBS should be set up as a single node BBS
first. After it is debugged, then upgrade to a multitasking
multinode BBS.

Get a Mentor

The hardest part of putting together a BBS is the software. BBS
software packages are notoriously difficult for a first timer to set
up. You should select a BBS software package used by a Sysop you
know - who is willing to help you install and debug it. Failing that,
perhaps a consultant can help.

Use the opinion of someone you trust when selecting a BBS package.
Make sure you tell that someone your goal in setting up your BBS,
e.g. now many nodes, etc.

Having a mentor Sysop to guide you through the labyrinth of BBS
configurations really helps. One hour of telephone support from a
guru is equivalent to 16 hours of trial and error while thumbing
through the manual.

Buy the BBS software package and skim/read the manual. Try the
install program, get familiar with the package and how to change
things. Try setting it up. When you have troubles, call your mentor.
An ideal quick start to set up a BBS is to copy a Sysop's BBS setup -
with their permission of course. It is far easier to change a
running BBS to meet your needs than to set one up from scratch.
Like many other software packages, BBSs are sometimes available as
test drive or shareware versions. Like all shareware packages, you
should pay the registration fees as soon as possible. Test driving
a BBS package is not as useful as test driving other software
packages. You should choose a BBS package because you can get
support for it, or you like it (as a BBS caller), or you like its
features.

If your BBS is located in your home, get a P.O. Box. BBSs
usually end up having some sort of mail-in registration or a
donation form. You don't want to post your home address on your BBS.
When you get your BBS up, you know where to list it!

Dueling Standards: V.FAST verses V.32terbo

As we mentioned in issue 1, the next generation of high speed
modems will likely be V.FAST or V.32terbo. Thanks to Rockwell,
V.FAST is ahead now. Rockwell is the company that makes the 'guts'
of many popular modems. Rockwell is one of the companies we can
thank for the wave of commodity modems that have driven prices down.

Rockwell has promised to ship their new V.FAST chip in production
quantities by November. This chip includes the DSP (Digital Signal
Processing) "data pump" that can handle up to 28.8 kbits/second over
normal (analog) telephone lines.

Rockwell's progress on the V.FAST chip set is a setback to the
V.32terbo proponents. The V.32terbo proponents formed their own
group because they were impatient with the slow progress of the
V.FAST specification, and chances for a worthy DSP chip set to be
developed quickly. V.32terbo is a "here and now" specification for
quickly boosting modem speeds to 19.2 baud.

The current crop of 14.4K modems are a great
value and will not be obsolete for a few years. The outlook for BBSs
is good because faster modems always increase BBS activity.
Soon we will have either 19.2K or 28K modems. Rockwell
is helping to decide which one will be available at commodity prices.

Internet Corner - Archie

Before the Archie utility, one of the most tedious things to do on
the Internet was to find a file. Although FTP lets you 'get' any file
on the network, little was posted about where a file is located on
the Internet network.

Archie is a system which allows you to search indices of files
available on public servers on the 'net'. You can ask Archie to find
file names which contain a text string, or ask it to suggest files
that contain a certain word in the description. Archie returns the
file names that meet your criteria and the name of the server that
has the files. You can then use the FTP utility to get your file
from the Internet storage site.

Archie gets its name from archive. It is a utility developed in
Montreal at McGill University. I personally maintain a database of
over 900 Archie sites, allowing access to 50 Gigabytes of
information and files. Anyone can log on to an Archie server and
easily search for files.

Telnet

Telnet is used to log on to other computers on the Internet. It is
used to access databases, indices, catalogs and other services
available to the public. Telnet lets you work from your computer and
log on to a remote computer anywhere on the net. The simplest way
to use Telnet is to type: "Telnet name_of_remote_site" at the
command prompt.
An example of using Telnet to access the Archie utility is shown
below.

Using Archie

It is good Internet etiquette to access sites closest to you, to
keep system costs down. To use Archie, try the Internet (IP) address
of nearby Archie site: 128.167.254.195 (the IP # for
archie.sura.net)

A Session transcript with an Archie site follows. Bold prompts show
system prompts and displays, italics show my comments.

This lists all 984 archie sites available, only the first is shown
here. Following is an example of using the prog command to search
the database for a file.

archie> prog surfing

My keyword for Archie to search for is surfing. Archie then gives a
large listing of all ftp sites that had files with the name surfing
in the title.

archie> bye
{gostsaib:2}

I quit my Archie session back to the local network I started with.

My complete Archie server list, Archie site list, and the
Archie help commands, are available on the Berryessa Central BBS
(Babba Zone 1) as a file named 9308ARCH.BAB and is a free
download.
(That BBS closed years ago.)